In one Eastern European country, IKEA breaks record

Swedish retailer IKEA has had record-setting sales at its Czech Republic stores, according to a report in the Prague Daily Monitor.

For IKEA CR, the company’s Czech Republic division, revenue was a record-setting 464 million Czeck Republic Korunies (US$25.97 million), up 212 percent from $8.3 million last year.

The company saw sales of $324.6 million for the year, up 20.8 percent from $268.6 million last year.

IKEA stores in the Czech Republic were visited by 7.47 million people, of whom 4.2 million were paying customers, according to the report. The number of visitors and paying customers rose 14 percent and 18 percent, respectively.

IKEA expects to see sales rise 13 percent in 2008. The retailer operates four stores in the Czech Republic. Though no new stores are planned in that country in 2008, the company expects to double its store count in Slovakia and Hungary next year.